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Events

06/02/2012 (All day)
Tulsa, Oklahoma
06/03/2012 (All day)
Queens, New York
06/03/2012 (All day)
Asbury Park, New Jersey

National Sponsors

Status of Same-Sex Relationships Nationwide
Civil Unions
Domestic Partnership
Employment and Rights in the Workplace and Rights in the Workplace
Marriage
Relationship Recognition
07/15/2010
Modified Date: 
03/02/2012

Jurisdictions with Marriage Equality

  • California (estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who married in 2008 remain married but marriage limited to different-sex couples after November 5, 2008, by Proposition 8)
  • Connecticut
  • District of Columbia
  • Iowa
  • Maryland (Marriage equality law goes into effect January 2013, but that may be delayed if opponents gather enough signatures to force a voter referendum in November 2012.)
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • New York
  • Vermont
  • Washington (Marriage equality law goes into effect June 7, 2012, but that may be delayed if opponents gather enough signatures to force a voter referendum in November 2012.)

States that Give the Benefits And Responsibilities of Marriage but with a Label of Inferiority Such as Civil Union or Domestic Partnership

States that Give Some or Many Protections with Statewide Non-Marriage Laws Such As Domestic Partnership, Reciprocal Beneficiary or Other Laws

  • Colorado - Designated Beneficiary Agreements Law
  • Hawaii - Reciprocal Beneficiaries Law
  • Maine - Limited Domestic Partnership Law 
  • Maryland - Limited Domestic Partnership Law
  • Wisconsin - Limited Domestic Partnership Law

States that Respect Out-of-State-Marriages of Same-Sex Couples

  • California (by statute, pre-November 5, 2008, marriages honored as marriages and later out-of-state marriages treated as registered domestic partnerships)
  • Illinois (out-of-state marriages treated as civil unions)
  • Maryland
  • New Jersey (out-of-state marriages treated as civil unions)
  • New Mexico (per Attorney General opinion but not confirmed by court)
  • Rhode Island (likely for some purposes but not divorce)

States that Give Limited Domestic Partnership Benefits to State Employees (not including states listed in prior categories that provide broader protections)

  • Alaska
  • Arizona (eliminated by state budget vote in 2010, but continued by court order during Lambda Legal’s Collins v. Brewer lawsuit)
  • Montana
  • New Mexico (listed here because Attorney General opinion not yet confirmed by court)
  • Rhode Island (listed here because respect for out-of-state marriages not yet confirmed by court)

Additional resource:

Examples of States that Provide Benefits to Same-Sex Partners of State Employees

States with Constitutional Amendments Empowering Legislature to Restrict Marriage

Additional resource:

Text of State Constitutional Amendments Targeting Same-Sex Relationships

States with Constitutional Amendments Restricting Marriage

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Idaho
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Virginia
 

Additional resource: Read the laws themselves.

Text of State Constitutional Amendments Targeting Same-Sex Relationships